The "Sunset by the Mississippi" evening campfire here - a nightly event this summer - was transformed into a July 24th celebration in observance of Pioneer Day, which commemorates the Mormon pioneers entry into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847.

A year earlier, in February 1846, they had evacuated Nauvoo, which served as Church headquarters for seven years from 1839.For this year's observance, parallel commemorations occurred simultaneously in Nauvoo and in Montrose, Iowa, on the opposite bank of the Mississippi River.

As a crowd of more than 400 gathered at the foot of Parley Street in Nauvoo, strains reminiscent of Pitt's Brass Band could be heard playing "The Spirit of God Like a Fire Is Burning." The band was composed of missionaries serving in Nauvoo; however, the original pioneer musical score was used. The pioneer brass band that brought so much satisfaction to the citizens of Nauvoo in the 1840s was directed by William Pitt, a convert to the Church from Great Britain.

With noted author George W. Givens as emcee, the audience in this year's commemoration listened to words about the Prophet Joseph Smith, founder of Nauvoo. A favorite activity of the prophet's was the "stick-pull" competition. He was a champion in this fiercely competitive game. One match after another took the stage, from small "featherweight" girls to the "heavyweight" men's bracket.

During the program, the audience recalled the Saints' exodus from Nauvoo during the bitter cold winter. Events from the past came alive through journal entries - such as Mary Fielding Smith blessing her sick oxen; Willard Richards soothing a small, newly orphaned child in Winter Quarters; and William Clayton composing the "hymn heard round the world," "Come, Come, Ye Saints."

Elder Sterling Hill, playing his Scottish bagpipes and leading a children's parade, represented the many different nationalities as the wagons rolled west from Nauvoo in 1846.

On the Montrose side of the river, another program was being held as local historian Mike Trapp recalled the history of the exodus and the greatest migration this country has ever witnessed. The program, under the direction of Jerry McLeod, was filled with pioneer games, family songs and musical recollections of the joys the Saints treasured.

Just as the pioneer Saints danced the "Virginia Reel" in the evenings, so did the participants of the festivities. From the young children to the older grandparents, a joyous spirit of exhilaration permeated the celebration.